As some of you
may know, I’m an old New Englander, having lived the first 36 years of my
life in good old Rhode Island, the state I was born in. Up in New England,
porters were ubiquitous, and I suspect in retrospect that I likely took them
for granted. Catamount Porter was probably my very first local favorite, but
there were so many more in those days:
Samuel Adams Honey Porter ,
Geary's London Porter , Emerald Isle Porter, Atlantic Brewing Coal
Porter, Berwick Maple Porter, Buzzard’s Bay West Porter, Carabassett Porter…
I could go on and on.

Then I moved to Georgia, and found it bloody hard indeed to find a decent
local porter. Just about nobody down here brewed them (Sweetwater did
for a while, but even they gave it up as a bad job). I suppose that may be
due to the warmer climate, though we still do have winter down here, albeit
a far milder one than up north. Anyway, I missed my beloved porters badly.

Then a few years ago I stumbled upon a real treasure while in, of all
places, South Carolina. That treasure was (and is) Palmetto Porter,
from Charleston’s Palmetto Brewing Company. I had enjoyed their
Palmetto Pale Ale already, but as impressed as I was with that one,
their porter doubly knocked my socks off. Maybe it was because I was in
porter withdrawal, but I doubt it: this is just really good stuff.

Palmetto Porter pours to a dark brownish to light black color; it’s
not opaque, and if you hold it up to the light you will see it become
browner as the light passes through. A moderately sized creamy head forms
atop the liquid as I pour, and the nose is full of rich notes of fig and
chocolate. A quick sip reveals a beer of medium body that is simply packed
with rich roasty flavor. Right I way get dark bittersweet chocolate,
caramel, coffee, and fruity hints of raisin and fig. The beer finishes dry
with some roasty bitterness and some herbal hop aroma.

This is a very, very drinkable and wonderfully flavorful beer, and each sip
seems to beg for another. I think it needs a tad more body to be perfect,
though not so much to bring it to the level of a stout. Still and all, this
is the best porter I’ve come across anywhere in the south, and it’s not to
be missed.

If you’re in the southeast and need a decent porter fix, then Palmetto
Porter, my friends, is just what the doctor ordered.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For
reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.